The Fire Within
by OrangeBlossomMoss
Summary: An old enemy resurfaces, determined to cause Xena more grief. Alternate timeline alert- this story presumes the whole Hope/Dahak debacle never happened.
1. Chapter 1

Callisto looked down at the dying man, and smiled gently.

The scent of death permeated the small prison cell where he lay- the acrid odor of the bodies being burned in the courtyard, the smell of fever-sweat and disease and decay rising off the bodies of the prisoners.

It was the vile perfume of despair, and Callisto inhaled deeply of it.

She found it invigorating.

The man who lay on the narrow bed would not last until sunset, she knew. His skin was sweat-slick and hot, and covered with black swellings- the appalling signs of the plague. He was fighting for every breath.

Callisto sat on the edge of the bed and tenderly swept a lock of dark hair out of his eyes.

"You look terrible," she said. Her smile became nearly beatific. "Who would've have thought that someone like you, would've come to an end like this? Did _you_? A man of your talent and ability, dying alone in a filthy prison cell. It breaks the heart." She sighed, and the man's bleary eyes focused on her for the first time since she'd arrived.

"Go away," he hissed. His voice could barely be heard over the crackling of the pyre in the courtyard.

"Now, is that any way to talk to someone who wants to help you?" she asked. She laid a cool hand on his cheek.

"You can't help me," he said. It was not a whine, merely a statement of fact.

"If I were mortal, that would be true," she agreed. "There's medicine on the way, as I understand it, but it won't get here in time to save you. Now I, on the other hand, am here right now, and I'm a god. I can take care of this little problem of yours in an instant."

"What do you want?" She definitely had his full attention now.

"I want you. I want your talent, I want your skills, I want your allegiance. And, in return, I'll give you your life back."

"What a deal," he muttered.

He began to cough; deep, tearing coughs that sounded as if they might crack his ribs. When the spasm wore off, there was blood on his lips, in his beard, and on the blanket that covered him. He contemplated the blood for a long moment.

"You don't have very long to make your decision," Callisto said. "It would be a pity if a treasure like yourself were to be buried here forever. Oh, wait, they won't even bury you, will they?" She wrinkled her nose as a breeze wafted through the room.

"I don't normally give my allegiance to anyone," he said.

"I don't normally rescue people," Callisto replied, "but desperate times call for desperate measures, don't you agree?"

The man weakly offered her his right hand, and she clasped it. "Save me, my goddess, and I'm yours," he swore.

There was a brief flash of light. And when the guard came to investigate (holding a handkerchief over his nose and mouth, for all the good it might do), the cell was empty.


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn't socially acceptable to kill someone, just because he was annoying; nevertheless, Xena was sorely tempted.

There was a plague on the land- a plague that, for a wonder, might have a cure- and physicians were traveling from Athens to Thebes to consult with young King Oedipus about how to heal the kingdom. The king had requested Xena act as a guard and guide to three of the best and brightest that Athens had to offer- Oedipus feared the danger of  
kidnapping for ransom was too great for them to travel by themselves.

It was an agreement that Xena was already regretting.

Of the three men, the youngest, Gorgidas, was the best looking and most taciturn. He was polite enough, though, and not afraid to get his hands dirty when it came time to set up camp for the night, or clean fresh game. The middle physician, Calphas, wasn't particularly willing to put any effort into non-medical pursuits, but he was almost as quiet as Gorgidas.

And then there was Gershon, the eldest.

She had no doubt that the man was a well-educated and skilled doctor; he spoke with eloquence and intelligence. It was just that... he never seemed to STOP speaking.

From the first hour of the morning, when they mounted their horses, to the last moments of the night, as they doused their campfire, Gershon kept up a running commentary on the scenery, his past medical triumphs, his dislike of sleeping outdoors, his numerous allergies, his romantic triumphs, and anything else that happened to come to mind. Telling him to be quiet was effective, it was true- but not for more than twenty minutes at most.

The other two men deferred to him as the eldest, and listened with obvious respect. Gabrielle listened politely (or at least appeared to), making the occasionally appropriate comment ("Really?", "Oh dear," and "Is that so?" for the most part). Xena couldn't bring herself to do so. The drone of Gershon's voice reminded her of a swarm of wasps buzzing around her ears.

Thebes was still four days away. She wondered if she'd have a single quiet moment before they got there. She wondered if Gershon would ever wear his voice out. She wondered if she'd be able to make the entire trip without putting a gag on the man.

As she was mulling over the thought of using her pressure point skills to render him unconscious, she spied a pair of children approaching on horseback. She signaled that her little party should come to a halt- this wasn't the sort of territory, she thought, where children should be out on their own.

But then the pair grew closer, and she revised her first impression. Perhaps these weren't children after all. Perhaps they were adults… on a very large horse. In fact, they were starting to look familiar…

"My word!" Gershon exclaimed, "That's a satyr on that horse! With a young girl he's probably kidnapped! Xena, you must rescue her."

"I don't think she'd appreciate that," Gabrielle commented, waving. "He's her husband."

Indeed, it was Echo and Lysander, along with their monstrous grey gelding, Incitatus.

Xena felt the corners of her mouth begin to twitch; Lysander was wearing a bright red loincloth that called attention to the very area it was supposed to be concealing.

"Fancy meeting you here," Lysander said, dismounting. He greeted Gabrielle with a warm hug. "Where are you off to? And with these… fine… gentlemen?" He arched an eyebrow at the doctors, who were eyeing him with suspicion.

"Just guiding them to Thebes," Xena said, getting down to collect a hug of her own. "They've been summoned by King Oedipus." She looked up at Echo. "Hello there."

"Hello Xena, Gabrielle." Echo smiled. "Pardon me for staying seated- Inky's just waiting for an opportunity to run back home."

"We're fetching somebody to see the king, too," Lysander said. "Soothsayer friend of ours, lives off in that direction." He pointed west.

"Why can't he fetch himself?"

"He's blind."

"And so cantankerous," Echo put in, "that his most recent caregiver apparently fled screaming into the night. So we'll be transporting him instead."

"Ah, so that's why you're… clothed?"

"Well…" Lysander shrugged. "I try to show a little discretion when I'm in public…"

"I don't think 'discreet' really describes that," Gabrielle giggled.

"Ladies!" Gershon whined, "We mustn't tarry!"

"True enough," Echo agreed. "We should be getting on, too."

"We'll probably meet up in Thebes, then?" Lysander suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Gabrielle nodded.

The pair rode off to the west.

Gershon, watching them go, gave a disparaging snort. "That poor animal. Worst case of gigantism I've ever seen. They should be letting the poor thing rest instead of abusing it so."

"It's a Norse war-horse, actually," Calphas sighed. "They're all that size." Under his breath, Xena heard him add "Twit."

She liked him better already.

Perhaps an hour later, as they crested a small hill crowned with wildflowers (which Gershon was quite sure would wreak havoc on his sinuses) Xena saw just the thing to make this trip complete: Joxer was approaching on horseback from the west.

Xena actually rubbed her eyes and looked again. Joxer... on HORSEBACK?? The man was petrified of the creatures. It must have taken something huge to get him up on one, much less go in search for them on one.

So now, she thought direly, she'd be traveling with the TWO most annoying men in the world...


	3. Chapter 3

Gabrielle stared in horrified amusement as Joxer came riding towards them. It was a wonder he hadn't fallen off- he bounced up and down in the saddle, completely out of rhythm with the animal's gait.

As he reached their party, he reined too hard, and then he _did_ fall off; the horse pitched him neatly and then cantered away.

"Ow," he said, after a moment to get his breath back.

"Are you all right, sir?" Gorgidas asked. "That was quite a tumble."

"Hurt my pride, mostly," Joxer said, sitting up carefully. He gave Xena and Gabrielle a lopsided grin. "Not like I have much of that to begin with."

"What are you doing here?" Xena asked, getting straight to the point.

"I came to warn you. I was with another party of doctors, coming from Philippi, and…" he stood up and brushed himself off, "well, they've all been murdered."

"Murdered." The three physicians exchanged nervous looks.

"In the night, in secret. We never saw who did it. But, you know, I heard you were guiding a bunch of doctors yourself and I thought…"

"Thanks. We'll keep our eyes peeled." Xena said, and signaled Argo into motion again. Joxer fell into step beside Gabrielle.

"How'd you find us?" she asked. "Did you run into Echo and Lysander?"

"Um, yeah, they pointed me in the right direction," he admitted.

Gershon started up a new monologue, on the subject of how perhaps Xena couldn't provide enough protection for them, and perhaps might see fit to turn back until she'd gathered a few more bodyguards, and perhaps she should thrash this Joxer fellow (just a suggestion, mind you) since he might very well have led the murderers right to their own little party. Gabrielle noticed that Xena's scowl disappeared, briefly, after the thrashing suggestion, but then returned almost immediately.

"The people of Thebes need help now. We can afford to turn back." But they could quicken pace, at least, and Gabrielle and Joxer were ordered into the cart that carried the physician's various supplies and belongings.

They reached a promising place to camp, just around sunset, and Gabrielle went off to a nearby stream to fetch some water.

"That my job, write the stories and fetch the water," she sighed.

As she squatted by the water side to lower her bucket, she realized she was not alone. Only a couple of yards farther upstream, a blonde woman sat on a rock, head down, skirt hiked up to her knees, soaking her feet in the water.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," Gabrielle said. The woman didn't respond.

Gabrielle took another look at her and gasped. The woman's legs were badly burned, red and raw. The bard couldn't imagine how somebody could have walked to this stream, injured that badly. The pain must be excruciating.

"Do… do you need help?" she asked. "I'm traveling with some doctors; they might be able to do something for you…"

"Oh, no," the woman said quietly. "They can't." She looked up slowly, and smiled. "Nothing can heal me except time."

It was Callisto.

Gabrielle felt her blood turn to ice. This couldn't be; it was impossible.

"I saw you die," she whispered.

"You saw me fall." Callisto corrected her. "Velasca's toast, but I remembered I was a god, just at the last moment. Quick enough to save my life, but not quick enough…" She lifted a bloody foot from the water. "Gods can be burned, it turns out."

Gabrielle started to stand up. It seemed to take forever. This was like one of those nightmares where she could only move in slow motion, but this was _real._

"Tell Xena I'm watching her, would you, sweetie?" Callisto winked. "Tell her I'll be seeing her. Soon." And with that, she vanished.

Gabrielle dropped the bucket into the befouled water and ran.


	4. Chapter 4

How many times does a person have to die, before they stay dead? Xena wondered. She had killed Callisto herself. Twice. And yet somehow she kept coming back like a bad copper piece.

Hera bringing her back from the dead was one thing; the gods were free to go down to Tartarus and pluck out whomever they chose. Callisto surviving a fall into a lava pit was something else entirely.

Ares had once mentioned that even gods weren't immune to being burned; Cupid had been laid low for a couple of weeks after Psyche accidentally spilled hot lamp oil on him. So lava should have been fatal; Callisto should have been vaporized, dissolved into a puff of steam that could never be pulled back together again.

But somehow she had.

Xena sat whetting the edge of her chakram and thinking. Was Callisto behind the murders of the physicians from Philippi? It seemed unlikely; Callisto liked to announce her crimes and take credit for them, so stealth wasn't her style. Of course, letting Gabrielle go without attempting to kill her, wasn't exactly Callisto's style either.

Had she appeared to Joxer, just to frighten her once-loyal soldier? He hadn't mentioned it; in fact, as he made dinner for the group (the only thing he was good for, in her opinion) he was uncharacteristically quiet.

"What do you think King Oedipus wants a sooth-sayer for?" Gorgidas asked, as he accepted a bowl of stew from Joxer.

"Sooth-sayers," Gershon snorted. "Liars, the lot of them. They just tell you what they think you want to hear, and to Hades with the consequences if you act on their advise. Why, I remember one time-"

"Well, is it true the plague is only affecting the kingdom of Thebes?" Calphas interrupted. "There's got to be a reason for that."

"I've heard that," Gershon conceded. "The infection is apparently not spreading beyond the borders of the country."

"Well, then," Gorgidas said, with his mouth full, "that's supernatural. He needs a Seer to tell him why it's happening." He nodded at Joxer. "Very good, by the way."

"Thanks," Joxer muttered.

Xena understood, suddenly. Miramas was part of Thebes, and Joxer's brother Jett was imprisoned there. He was an assassin, and not at all fond of Joxer, but a brother was still a brother; Joxer must be worried about him.

As he bent to hand her some stew, she said quietly, "He'll be fine."

"You probably think I'm stupid," he muttered. "He wouldn't waste a moment thinking about me, if I was in his place."

"We can't always… control who we care about," Xena said gently.

"No kidding," he sighed. He glanced quickly at Gabrielle, then walked away to fill his own bowl and start cleaning the stew-pot.

Despite their earlier unease, Joxer and the three doctors were relaxed and yawning now. Xena watched as they bedded down for the night, close to the fire where she could keep an eye on them.

The wagon-driver, a man so taciturn that he made Xena herself seem like a chatterbox, stretched out in the back of the wagon. Most days Xena barely noticed him –she wasn't even sure what his name was- but she would have to watch over him as well.

Gabrielle was yawning, too. "I know I should stay awake," she said sheepishly, "but I can't seem to keep my eyes open."

"I'll wake you if I need you," Xena replied. She'd moved the little party at a fairly fast pace all day; it was no wonder they were worn out. She watched as the little bard curled up in her sleeping furs.

Xena had no trouble staying awake. Her own warrior's discipline allowed her to forgo sleep when necessary, and the problem of Callisto was enough to keep her alert in any case. She patrolled the perimeter of the campsite, waiting for the sound of a snapped twig, a shift in the shadows, the smell of some stranger's body odor.

The night stayed peaceful. The only sound, other than snoring, was the faint whistle of the breeze. The only movement she saw was the gentle wafting of clouds across the face of the moon. The only smell was the scent of burning wood.

When morning came, she relaxed, just a little. Darkness had come and gone without incident.

The wagon-driver woke first, and wandered off to answer nature's call and (she hoped) find more firewood. A while later, Gabrielle awoke, scratched indelicately, and smacked her lips.

"So, what's for breakfast?" she asked muzzily.

"Mmmm. Guys?" Joxer asked, blinking and sitting up. "Breakfast preferences?"

"How bout a nice hot bowl of 'shut up and let me sleep,' what do you say?" Calphas muttered.

"No, we need to get up and get moving," Xena said. The wagon-driver came wandering back (without any wood) and Gorgidas was stirring slowly. Only Gershon still slept.

"Um, Doctor?" Gabrielle said, leaning over to shake him. "Time to get up." She shook him again, with no response.

"Sheesh, does that guy sleep like the dead or what?" Joxer asked.

Gabrielle shook the sleeping man harder, and he rolled limply onto his back. And screamed.

Gershon's open eyes stared sightlessly up at the sky. Blood stained the front of his tunic. He had been stabbed, once, through the heart.


	5. Chapter 5

The eyes of everyone in the party moved from Gershon's body to Xena, and she could see accusation in every face except Gabrielle's.

"Did you fall asleep, after all?" Gorgidas asked.

"I was awake all night," Xena said. "I didn't hear or see anything…" She stared at Gershon in dismay.

"It was Callisto then, somehow," Gabrielle said. "It had to be."

"Callisto? You mean the woman that Hera turned into a bear?" Calphas asked.

"Same name, different woman."

"Well who's _this_ Callisto, then?"

"A warlord," Xena said quietly. "Or at least she used to be. Now she's a goddess."

And whose fault was it that Callisto was a goddess now? she thought to herself. It was her own fault; Xena had only herself to blame for Callisto's deification. What had she been thinking, letting Callisto within a mile of a dose of ambrosia?

Making mistakes was a part of being human, but some of hers were starting to look disastrous, with hindsight.

The physicians exchanged a grim look.

There was no time to be lost. Breakfast no longer seemed attractive. They bundled Gershon's body in his blankets and put him in the back of the cart- he would be burned properly when they got to Thebes. Then the party took off.

Without Gershon's constant chatter, things were decidedly too quiet. Nobody else seemed eager to speak, and the silence gave Xena too much time to think.

She had failed. She had missed something, and now a man was dead. Now she was exhausted, just when she needed to be most alert.

"Ow!" yelled Gabrielle.

"What?"

"Somebody pulled my hair!"

"It wasn't me!" Joxer protested.

Argo shied and snorted. A moment later, an unseen hand caressed Xena's thigh.

The invisible entity pranced among them, poking, patting and stroking. It knocked Joxer's hat off, undid the straps on Gorgidas' saddle, spooked Gershon's horse and sent it running off into the woods. It was like being attacked by a malicious child, and Xena had no doubt who the child was.

"Callisto!" she snarled. "Just show yourself and get this over with."

"I don't think so," trilled the mad goddess, from somewhere off to the left. "I'm just starting to have fun."

The torment continued, slowly the party's progress to a mere crawl. And what could they do? How could you fight an enemy you couldn't see?

The attack stopped abruptly, and Xena braced herself for whatever was going to come next.

Nothing came.

They all looked around suspiciously, certain that this was a trick, but nothing… continued to happen.

The group quickened pace.

Calphas fell back for a few moments to reach into the wagon, and then trotted his horse up alongside Xena. She saw he had his medicine bag hanging from his saddle horn, and his scrolls thrust through his belt.

"I'm going to risk it on my own," he said quietly. "Not that I don't have confidence in you, but I can't take much more of this."

Xena nodded her understanding.

"I figure, at the gallop, I can make Thebes by tomorrow afternoon," he added.

"You'll kill that horse, doing it that way," she pointed out.

"It's a worthy trade- one horse for the lives of hundreds of people," he said. "I hope we meet again while we still live."

And with that, he kicked his horse into the gallop.

"WHAT?!?!?" Gorgidas shrieked. "You're just letting him- AAHHH!!!"

Xena whirled Argo around. Gorgidas was pulling a knife from his lower back. As she rode to him, she tried to see where the blow had come from. Then she looked at the physician and drew a sharp breath- there was already far too much blood. The knife had gotten one of his kidneys.

Gorgidas was going to bleed to death before their eyes and there was nothing she could do about it.

Then, things happened far too quickly. Gorgidas began to pray softly, and the wagon driver gave a choked cry and toppled from his seat on the wagon, his throat slit. And Joxer was holding the knife, he suddenly had Gabrielle in a choke hold with the knife to her throat…

And suddenly it all fell into place. How Joxer could arrive on horseback when she had never seen him ride. How he'd been so silent and serious. How Gershon had been murdered so silently in the night.

It all made sense- if she was looking, not at Joxer, but at his brother, the King of Assassins.

"Jett," Xena said.

"Took you long enough," he replied, with the ghost of a smile. "And hands off that chakram, or the blonde dies."

"Xena," Gabrielle whispered, her eyes wide with terror.

From behind Xena, a familiar laugh.

"Gotcha," said Callisto.


	6. Chapter 6

Xena didn't want to take her eyes off Gabrielle for even a moment, but it wasn't a good idea to have her back turned to Callisto. Reluctantly, she turned around.

From beside her, she heard the final soft thud as Gorgidas slid bonelessly from the back of his horse and hit the ground.

The mad goddess was smiling at her. She looked pale and drawn, though, and oddly weary.

"What's the matter, Xena?" Callisto asked. "Tired? Lost your edge? Jett's quite the little cook, isn't he?"

"He _poisoned_ her?" Gabrielle squeaked.

"Just a little something to dial it down a notch," Callisto shrugged. "It won't kill her."

Xena scowled. Poison- that explained a lot. But it wasn't enough to tale all the fight out of her; she could shake it off if she just focused her mind. She dismounted and started to walk towards Callisto.

"What about the other doctor?" Jett asked.

"Let him go. He'll be an excellent witness. Somebody has to spread the news of Xena's failure."

"So, are we done here?"

"You are," Callisto replied, and waved her hand. There was a soft poof! And Jett and Gabrielle vanished.

"Where are they?" Xena asked, drawing her sword.

"In Thebes. In a nice little house right across from the king's palace, actually."

With a cry, Xena sprang at the goddess and ran her through.

"Like _that_ will help," Callisto sneered. "Don't worry, Xena, I'm going to tell you exactly where your little pet is hidden."

"It won't be that easy, though, will it?" Xena grated.

"Oh no." And suddenly, with no warning or feeling of movement, they were somewhere else. The wagons, the horses, and the bodies had not come with them.

"I brought you a little closer. Take it as a gift," Callisto said. They were still on a road, to be certain, although the surrounding forest was denser and darker here.

Callisto produced a sickly green ball of light and tossed it from hand to hand.

"Another gift," she said. "It's called Iberian Influenza- a sort of plague. Wonderful stuff. Apparently, unlike some diseases, this one passes by the very young, the old, and the weak, and goes straight for the youngest and healthiest specimens. Kind of like a hunter after a stag. I found it in Pestilence's lab; it's still a work in progress. Not supposed to be deployed for another two thousand years or so. But you know, I just had to give it a try."

She flung the ball at Xena, who batted it aside with her sword. The ball didn't shatter though; it bounced off a tree and came back at her. Xena whirled and smacked it away again, but it just kept whizzing back at her, ricocheting off branches and rocks the same way her chakram did. And the poison had dulled her reflexes. She could feel herself slowing down even as the ball picked up momentum. It slipped past her guard and struck her in the chest, where it exploded into a shower of gooey green droplets.

"Now," Callisto said, "here's the deal. Jett has Gabrielle in a blue house with yellow shutters, on Serpentine Street. If you don't come to fetch her by this time tomorrow, we're going to spend a jolly couple of hours raping and torturing her to death. On the other hand, if you do set foot in Thebes, you'll spread this new plague to everyone who comes near you." She waited for the realization to sink in.

Xena stared at her in horror. It was an impossible choice. She could either spare the lives of hundreds of strangers, and lose Gabrielle, or she could save Gabrielle and kill the people of Thebes.

"That's if the influenza- what a mouthful, I'll call it the flu- doesn't kill you first."

"Which way?" Xena asked. Callisto pointed up the road.

"We'll be waiting," Callisto assured her. "Oh, and… perhaps you should get some rest first." She produced a handful of dust out of nowhere, and blew it out of her hand and into Xena's face.

Sleep washed over her like a tidal wave, and Xena slumped to the ground.


	7. Chapter 7

Something flashed and glittered before her face. Something blue and silver and golden as waves on the ocean. Xena blinked at it, but it wouldn't come into focus.

She lay cushioned on something warm and soft and furry, but she was still uncomfortable. She was hot, so hot, even though a cool hand touched her forehead, and her joints felt as if they were full of ground glass, and her mouth was so dry…

"Water," she whispered.

"She's awake! Give her water!" The voice was familiar. A wineskin was pressed to her lips, and water cold as ice trickled into her mouth. She swallowed gratefully, and her vision seemed to clear.

"Xena? What happened to you?" Another familiar voice- deep, rich, masculine. Lysander, she thought.

And jolted to full consciousness.

"No!" Xena cried, trying to sit up. Her friends had to stay away from her, they mustn't get too close or they'd catch the influenza, Callisto's deadly little present.

"Easy there," Calphas said, putting an arm around her even as she tried to pull away. He pulled her into a sitting position. "Don't overdo it."

Xena looked around. The warm pillowy object had apparently been Lysander's lap; the glittering blue mystery resolved into a sea-blue pendant and a tin whistle depending from a golden chain around Echo's neck. Not far off, an elderly man sat on Incitatus, scowling.

"Look," he said, "can we get going now?"

"We're not going to just leave a friend lying in the road, Tiresias," Lysander said.

"Fine. We're none of us getting any younger."

Xena began to cough, and Calphas pounded her helpfully on the back.

"What happened?" he asked. "How did you get ahead of me without a horse? And where are the others?"

Xena explained what had happened since they'd parted ways- how Joxer had turned out not to be Joxer, how Gorgidas and the driver had died, how Gabrielle had been taken from her. They stared at her gravely, and when she mentioned Callisto's name, Echo and Lysander exchanged a mysterious look.

"I have to go," Xena declared.

"Wait," Calphas said. "Give me just a minute or two. I've started brewing some tea for you."

"I don't need tea."

"It will ease the pain in your joints and loosen the congestion in your chest, so I say you _do_ need it."

"Gabrielle…" Xena attempted to rise, and Echo pulled her back down.

"You can't save her if you collapse before you get to her, now can you?" the wood-nymph said gently. "And I may have something that can help you, too."

As soon as she had that tea in her, she was going, even if she had to 'borrow' Incitatus to get to town. She had no idea how she was going to defeat Callisto, or keep from infecting the few healthy citizens of Thebes, but that was beside the point. She _had_ to go.

Echo beckoned to her husband, and he asked her to tell him what she wanted. She whispered in his ear. Lysander got up and scented the air, nostrils flaring. Then he trotted off into the woods.

"Where's that stupid goat off to?" Tiresias yelped. "We haven't got time-"

"You've got that much right," Xena said. She snatched the cup from Calphas hands and began to drink. The liquid scalded her tongue, and the vapors stung her eyes.

"How serious is this… influenza?" Calphas asked. "Tiresias, you can supposedly see the future- how much damage will this cause?"

The seer's face grew grey. "By the gods. It will kill millions. Tens of millions."

"There aren't that many people in the world!"

"There will be." Tiresias snapped suddenly, "Use the bloody boon Zeus promised you, nymph!"

"You can read minds now, too?" Echo said doubtfully.

"I can see the future, and the boon is needed now."

Echo took the blue pendant in her hands and pressed on it silently. For long moments there was silence, and Xena tried to drink the hot tea as fast as possible without gulping it.

There was a rush of displaced air, and a god appeared before them.

It was not Zeus.

"Dad's a little busy right now, short stuff," Ares said, crossing his massively muscled arms and smirking.

"I'm sure he is," Echo replied, rising. "Running the universe, seducing maidens…"

"So tell me what you want."

"He sent _you?_"

"Something wrong with me?"

"Oh, no, of course not. You're as handsome and fit as ever, and the new earring looks quite dashing. But you're hardly the messenger type."

"True," the god grinned, "but you usually don't keep such interesting company. I volunteered." He aimed his smile at the warrior princess. "Xena! You look terrible."

"What do you want, Ares?"

"Information." He reached down and hauled Xena to her feet, where she tried not to wobble. "It seems there's a new god running around. One who didn't spring from Dad's loins. You wouldn't know anything about that, now would you?"

"Echo, just ask for the boon! Young man, we are on a tight schedule here!" Tiresias bawled. He sounded, to Xena, like a rooster being strangled.

"Shut up, Tiresias, or I'll turn you into a woman again," Ares snarled. The sooth-sayer clapped his mouth shut.

"Well, I could use a boon right now," Echo said.

"Depends on what it is. I can't lift the plague on Thebes, if that's what you're thinking. That stays in place until King Oedipus learns a certain… inconvenient truth, and acts on it."

All this arguing. Couldn't they all stop yapping and let her go? Xena yanked her arm out of Ares' grasp and started stumbling down the road.

Lysander came dashing back and handed something to Echo- it looked like a bouquet.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Ares yelled. "Watch where you wave that!"

Xena paused. What could make a god so anxious? The flowers seemed unremarkable; they were a pale shade of mauve and resembled stunted tulips.

"Don't panic, I'm not going to use them on you," Echo said archly. She handed the bouquet to Xena, surreptitiously reserving one bloom and tucking it into her bodice as she did so.

"What's this?"

"Moly flowers. If you hold them in your hand and say the right words, you can make a god obey your command." Echo waited for the words to sink in.

Command a god. She could command Callisto to do her bidding. That mean the odds were suddenly tilting a little more in her favor.

"What do I do?" Xena asked. Echo whispered instructions in Xena's ear.

"Great," Ares grumbled. "Now _she _knows."

Xena tucked the bouquet into the front of her armor and started off.

"Xena," Ares walked swiftly to catch up with her," I can take you all right to Thebes, just tell me who this god is."

"Callisto," Xena growled. "And I'll deal with her myself."

The god arched an eyebrow at her, obviously thinking she couldn't deal with anything in her current condition. But a moment later, they were out of the forest and standing on the main street in Thebes.

The royal palace was to their left. The blue house with the precious yellow shutters was on the right.

"Take Tiresias to the king," Xena told Echo and Lysander. To Calphas she added, "I don't know where to send you, but…"

"It shouldn't be too hard to find sick people to treat," he said grimly, and started off.

Ares was nowhere to be seen, which was fine by her.

Xena squared her shoulders, passed the bouquet to her left hand, and took her sword in her right. Callisto would be expecting her, but not this soon.

It was time to go on the offensive.


	8. Chapter 8

Gabrielle was in a different place, and shoved inside a cage, before she properly realized what was happening.

She was no longer in a forest clearing, standing on the back of a wagon. Now, she was in the courtyard of a house that probably belonged to a nobleman- the frescoes were fresh and bright, and a fountain bubbled cheerfully in the center of the yard.

And she… _she_ was in a cage, locked up like an animal.

She stared at Jett.

"You poisoned Xena," she whispered.

"Only a little bit," He shrugged, sitting on the rim of the fountain. "It was just a little something to dull her senses-it's probably wearing off already. If I'd planned to kill her, she'd be dead."

"But why did you kill the doctors?"

"All part of my Lady's grand design. If Xena lives through this… it's doubtful, but it's possible- her reputation will have taken quite the blow."

"You killed those men just to wreck a reputation? What about the people of Thebes? They're dying- they need help!"

"Let me tell you a little something about Thebes, little girl. The gods don't slap down a plague like this for a minor sin. Somebody did something especially foul- murdered a parent, committed incest, tried to kill a god- and that somebody had to be pretty high up in the government here. And because this person, who I never met, committed this act, everybody else gets to suffer. This plague hit Miramas pretty hard, you know. It killed my father, and it nearly killed me."

"Joxer's father…?"

"_My _father. You know, the guards laughed at me when they carried his body past my cell; they said I'd be joining dear old dad pretty soon. And because of some sinning stranger in Thebes, I almost did." He whipped out of his many concealed daggers, and balanced it, on its tip, on his finger. "If it wasn't for Callisto, I'd be dead now."

"I'll tell people the truth about what you did to Xena," Gabrielle declared. "It's part of a bard's job." Jett only shook his head and laughed softly.

"Unlike Xena, you won't be living through this little adventure. You're not even going to get to see how it all turns out." With lightening speed, he whipped the dagger into the air, and it shot past her, coming within a hair's breadth of her nose.

Callisto shimmered into view behind him. She looked vaguely at Gabrielle, and then sat down.

"I'm tired," she said.

"Try to get some rest, my lady," Jett said. "You have plenty of time before Xena gets here. If she gets here at all."

Callisto sighed. Gabrielle wanted to back away-hiding would be great right now- but there was nowhere to hide inside the narrow cage.

The mad goddess rose and stalked over to the cage.

"I gave your friend a deadline," she said, "so the fun and games aren't going to start for a few hours. But I'd like you to have an idea of what I have planned."

She snapped her fingers, and a table appeared beside the cage. Gabrielle blanched. An array of metal and leather objects were laid out neatly on the table- knives, pincers, whips, needles, and other things she didn't want to look at.

"We'll be using all of these… later." Callisto gazed lovingly at the toys on the table, and her gaze became oddly unfocused. "And Jett… well, he'll be using _you._"

Callisto fell silent, and stroked one of the pincers affectionately.

"My Lady," Jett prompted.

"Mmmm, yes. We need to take a nap now. But I don't want you to get bored while you wait for us; that's no way to treat a guest." Callisto reached through the bars and tapped Gabrielle on the shoulder.

Images filled her mind. Heat. Flames. Pain beyond pain. She looked down at herself and saw that her clothes had burned away, her skin, her breasts, her hands, her feet. She slumped to the floor. A choked scream erupted from her throat, and she heard Callisto laugh.

"Just a taste. It's not real. But it feels real, doesn't it? This is what I was like when I escaped the lava stream. It's taken me all these months to get most of myself back, but since you don't have months… I'll let you relive it all… all my fondest memories… in the next few hours."

Gabrielle couldn't move. The agony blasted all thought from her brain. All she could do was whimper.

"Welcome to my nightmare," Callisto purred.


	9. Chapter 9

Xena paused before opening the door. Calphas's tea had started to take effect, she noted; her breathing had eased, and the pain in her limbs had receded. Her eyes still felt dry and hot, and she was terribly tired- but there would time to sleep when Gabrielle was safe.

She pushed the door open. The house had been well-maintained; the hinges were oiled and did not squeal to announce her presence. She peered around the edge of the open door.

It was dim in here, with all the shutters closed, but not too dim to see that this first room contained nothing but furniture.

Where were the owners? Had Callisto killed them, or had they succumbed to the Theban plague? She shook her head. It wasn't her worry, at least not right now.

She tucked the bouquet into the bodice of her leather armor, and stepped inside. Behind her came the click of hooves on pavement. She turned and saw Lysander was joining her, his own sword already drawn.

Xena nodded towards the marble floor and cocked her head. Would his hooves make too much noise? Nodding in understanding, the satyr dropped to his knees and shuffled forward, silent as a cat.

The advanced slowly from the entry way into a sitting room. It was empty also, although she could hear the nearby sound of plashing water. Lysander sniffed the air and gestured to the left, mouthing "Gabrielle. Alive."

Wanting to run, she still held herself back. The little bard was bait, after all; who knew what sort of trap was waiting? Xena edged towards the doorway to the right, Lysander moving beside her.

In a cage beside a fountain, Gabrielle lay on the floor. She was curled into a fetal position, trembling. Xena moved to her a quickly as possible, her eyes darting from side to side. There was no sign of Callisto or Jett; there were no guards.

She knelt and stroked Gabrielle's head through the bars.

"It's all right," she whispered. "I'm here, Gabrielle."

"Xena," Gabrielle moaned. Her eyes rolled back in her head.

The satyr moved quietly around the cage until he found the lock. He looked over the tray of torture implements that Callisto had set out, and selected two.

"What are you doing?" Xena hissed. She swallowed hard; she could feel a cough building in her throat.

"I was locked in a cage once. Didn't like it," he murmured, and inserted the instruments into the lock.

"You can pick locks?" She clapped a hand over her mouth and tried to breathe through her nose.

"I have many skills," he replied softly. There was a distinct click as the tumblers fell into place, and the door swung open.

Any noise it might have made was drowned out, as Xena was seized by a paroxysmal bout of coughing. She couldn't stop it, couldn't get it under control.

She managed not to drop her sword.

There was the sound of running feet, and Callisto was there, staring in surprise.

"You're early," she said.

"We have friends in high places," Lysander replied. He reached into the cage to help Gabrielle out; she didn't seem to notice him.

"Leave her be," Callisto ordered. With a wave of her hand, she sent the satyr flying across the room. "Do you think I'm going to let a hairy little forest spirit interfere with me? I'm a god!"

Xena caught her breath, and snatched up the first of the moly flowers. "By the power of sacred moly, and the pact between Zeus and Gaia, Callisto, I command you!" she shouted, as fast as she was able.

"What is that? You brought me flowers?" Callisto sneered.

"Whatever you did to Gabrielle, you undo it. Right now."

"What are you…" Callisto twitched. "What are you doing to me?"

"Now!"

To Xena's amazement, Callisto was jerked forward towards the cage; she moved as if there were a rope around her waist and she was fighting every step. Panting, she fell to her knees and placed her hand on Gabrielle's shoulder.

Immediately, Gabrielle gave a gasp and blinked. Her shivering stopped.

"I'm going to kill you," Callisto snarled.

"Not this time," Xena gasped. The first flower had wilted, but she took up another. "This influenza thing- take it back from me, and from everyone I've infected."

"NO!!!" Callisto shrieked, but already she was making hand gestures, gathering sickly green light back into her hands. The feeling of total health washed through Xena like a wave.

Jett, alerted at last by Callisto scream, came dashing into the room, sword in hand.

Xena was already drawing another flower from her bosom and rising to her feet. "You, stay there and behave yourself," she ordered Callisto.

The Warrior Princess and the King of Assassins circled each other warily. Xena could see Lysander moving along the edge of the room, back towards Gabrielle.

Jett lunged, and Xena parried his blow. He moved into the parry, shifting his position, and Xena mirrored the move in time to avoid a blow to her ribs. Their swords met several times, neither getting a touch on the other. He was good, she noted; a worth opponent.

Changing tactics, Jett dropped and aimed a blow at her legs; Xena leapt into the air with a cry and came down behind him. He was already rolling over, swinging his legs to knock her down as she landed. Xena recovered and began to rise even as Jett was already up, thrusting towards her belly. She knocked his blade aside and he skipped backwards, out of the way of her answering thrust.

"I can do this all day," he taunted.

"No you can't," Xena replied, and suddenly her sword made it past his defenses and she ran him through.

"No! No! It's not fair!" Callisto cried. She jerked away from the cage, where Lysander was gathering Gabrielle up into his arms.

Jett lay gasping on the floor. Xena kicked his sword away and turned to Callisto, another flower in hand.

"Did you use Hades' helmet to be invisible?" she asked.

"Yes, but…"

"Send it back to him while you're sending Pestilence his 'flu' back," Xena ordered.

Hissing like a cat, Callisto gestured. The green light disappeared, and there was the ghost of a 'poof' from another room.

"Jett," Callisto said.

Xena glanced down. Two flowers left.

"From now on, my friends and family are off limits," She said, holing up the penultimate bloom. "You want revenge, you take it out on me." She looked with disgust at the bleeding assassin. He was still, after all, Joxer's brother. She supposed he deserved one last chance.

Holding up the final bloom, she growled, "Take him and go to whatever rock you hide under, just get out of my sight."

Callisto and Jett vanished.

It was over. For now.


	10. Chapter 10

Echo rejoined them not long afterwards, guiding Tiresias. Whatever he'd told King Oedipus, it had had a dire effect- it had caused the king to blind himself with his own dagger. And as the little party left the city, they heard that the queen had hanged herself as well.

Xena found she didn't really want to know what truth Tiresias had told. She just wanted to get away from the blue house, away from Thebes.

Gabrielle looked ill. Physically, she was perfectly all right; mentally, she was still dealing with her memories of what had happened to Callisto after falling into the lava pit. She couldn't seem to stop crying.

"She had to remember herself," Gabrielle whispered. "She had to remember what it felt like to have eyes, and eyelids, and fingers, and… and skin. It took months. And she was in pain the entire time."

"It's over now," Xena said, hugging her.

"But it's still in here," Gabrielle replied, tapping her head. "Once you've seen something, you can't… unsee it."

They found a decent place to camp. Tiresias, somewhat mysteriously, informed them that their horses would be arriving shortly.

"Wonder where Ares went?" Lysander asked.

"Destroying every patch of moly he can find, no doubt," Tiresias said. "We'll see him soon enough."

Gabrielle fell into a fitful sleep in Xena's arms, and the rest of them sat around the fire, weary and glum.

"Xena," Lysander said. "I want to tell you something."

"All right," she said. She brushed Gabrielle hair away from her forehead.

"When I was seven, my father took me to a royal human wedding. My first one; I was quite excited. But my father got drunk, and when the bride excused herself for a few moments, he followed her. He tried to rape her. She got away from him, but she trod on a snake, and it bit her. She died of it." Xena turned slowly to stare at the satyr. He looked both thoughtful and angry. "I had to watch my father spend the next few years picking fights with the royal guards, trying to get in to see the king. Trying to get the king to punish him for what he'd done. But the king died, and my father still lives."

"Your father was Aristaeus?"

"Yes."

"And you're telling me this because?"

"Gabrielle has told us that you allowed Callisto to live. After she'd sworn to destroy everything you care about. And when she died, you found a way to make her a god. I'm thinking you want her to kill you."

Xena glared at him, but Lysander did not flinch from her gaze. He only looked disgusted.

"I deserve her anger," Xena admitted at last.

"But we don't," Lysander said quietly. "You let her live, and she unleashed a disease on us that could have devastated the entire world. She endangered all of us. She tortured Gabrielle. And her accomplice is a murderer." He took Xena by the chin and forced her to look into his serious golden gaze; she did not insult him by jerking away. "Sometimes, living a full life with your guilt _is_ your punishment. I want you to promise me: the next time you have the opportunity, you _will_ find a way to end her."

"I… I promise." Xena swallowed hard. He was right. She would have to find a way.

The satyr handed her a single moly blossom, and then went to embrace his wife.

There was a whinny of horses, and Ares, or all people, ambled up, leading Incitatus and Argo. He glanced around at the gloomy group, and with a gesture, he caused the horses to be hobbled for the night. Then he came and sat beside Xena, who quickly hid the flower behind her back

"What do you want, Ares?"

"Can't you ever just say hello?"

"You never drop by just to say hello."

"True." The god smiled nastily at her. "I hear it was a quick and dirty fight, you and Jett. I'm sorry I missed it."

"We all have our little disappointments," she replied, through clenched teeth. "What. Do. You. Want?"

"There's a little matter of that moly. Now I know _you_ can keep a secret. But that irritating blonde of yours hardly shuts up- and she's a bard. And there's some information that really shouldn't get out to the general public, if you know what I mean."

"So what are you going to do about it?"

"Oh, just the usual thing we gods like to do- give a little kiss, and take a memory in return." He learned forward. "I think I'll start with you."

"And I think that by the power of sacred moly, and the pact between Zeus and Gaia, Ares, I command you." She whipped out the final flower and brandished it before his face.

"Sneaky. I like it." He bowed his head mockingly. "What is your command, Xena?"

"If you're going to modify people's memories, then take away all the memories that Callisto dumped on Gabrielle. And… leave Echo's memory intact."

"Echo? Not you?"

Xena shook her head, and glanced over at the sleepy little wood-nymph, who was eyeing them both with suspicion. The gods had already messed up Echo's life quote enough.

Ares got up, with a heavy sigh, and wandered around the campfire to Tiresias. The old man was snoring softly. Ares kissed him on the forehead, and then turned to Lysander.

"No thanks, I'm straight," the satyr said.

"Yeah, and I'm not into farm animals," Ares growled, and kissed him swiftly between the horns. He patted Echo on the shoulder, then plopped down beside Gabrielle.

She moaned in her sleep.

"Easy, little girl," he murmured. He kissed Gabrielle with surprising gentleness. Almost immediately, she settled into a deeper, less troubled sleep, and sighed. Ares leaned past her and reached for the warrior princess.

"Slip me the tongue and you're dead," she warned.

"Wouldn't dream of it." He did kiss her, though, long and warmly, on the lips.

Xena blinked. Why was she kissing somebody? She pushed Ares away, and he smirked.

"Now, Echo, about that boon…" he said, wandering back over to where Echo had nearly nodded off.

Xena looked down and saw she was holding a wilted flower in her hand. What was that for? Must have been something Gabrielle gave her, she thought, and nuzzled the sleeping bard.

It had been a rough day. And she would have to figure out a way, somehow, to defeat Callisto once and for all. But not right now.

For now, she would hold Gabrielle in her arms. And rest.

THE END


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